Lizard Kings
The Lizard Kings, also called Dragon Kings or Dinosaur Kings, and often simply referred to as "dragons", were the greatest of the reptiles, according to Mokolé lore. They ruled over a period known as the Age of Kings, when dinosaurs walked the earth, but vanished during the Age of Sleep, after the Wonder-Work. History Details about the Lizard Kings are sketchy. The Mnesis does not encompass this period of time in all details, and even the Mnesis can be distorted and corrupted. Most Mokolé remember shadows, patchworked references, and what truly Was is uncertain. Each Mokolé has different beliefs about where the lines of Dream-memory and Dream-illusion lie. Still, some Dreams occur so often that they have become accepted more than others as possible — if not probable — truth. The Lizard Kings consisted of three saurial breeds: the dinosaurs of the land, the plesiosaurs of the sea, and the pterosaurs of the skies. According to their own legends, they were formed from the union of Helios and Gaia, while the Ananasi believe that the ancestors of the Mokolé were the creation of the Wyld. These beings had three different forms, mirroring the roles of the Triat. One of these, the near-human Drachid form, allowed the different breeds to mingle and even breed with each other. The resulting creatures were bipedal, smooth-skinned creatures with delicate, dexterous fingers, but still with the features of their parents. While the other Fera of the era largely shunned their Drachid forms, the Lizard Kings embraced it, using it to bridge differences across species. Dragon civilization grew with the discovery of the Mnesis. Using their Drachid forms, the Lizard Kings eventually mastered the strange realm, building the great Dragon Empires. Those who shunned the use of Mnesis were ostracized from the new society. Tribes of Drachids would live with their dragon masters, worshipping them as living gods. Building their cities with the very stuff of imagination and dreams, their very society depended on it. There existed no written records and those who could use the Mnesis ruled over those who could not. The Lizard Kings payed homage to the Celestines and after centuries, they became arrogant and power-hungry. Soon, the War of Dragons between the various empires ravaged the lands. The discovery of the "curse stones" (gold and silver) further led to an escalation of the conflict. The War of Dragons ended in a catastrophe, the Mnesis was exhausted permanently, forming the Gauntlet and the Lizard King's achievements melting away, with the survivors being easy prey for rival Fera like the Rokea. The Drachids revolted against their overlords, forcing the Lizard Kings to flee from their former subjects. In desperation, several entered hibernation. And as if things were not already bad enough, the Great Wonder-Work began, often correlated to the extinction event of the Cretaceous period. Only those Lizard Kings survived that had entered hibernation, leaving it a blank spot in their collective memory of their race. Generations after the Wonder-Work destroyed the last traces of their civilization, new Mokolé began to be born (and hatched), after the first survivors awakened after the Ice Age. The Lizard Kings' fall had cost the Breed, however. None of the new generation could assume the Drachid form that had allowed their ancestors to build their empire and dominate the pre-Event earth. Limited to two forms (Suchid and Archid) and without their breeding stock, the following weredragons interbred with the early humans, becoming the modern Mokolé. Some modern Mokolé claim to remember that humanity appeared at the dusk of the Age of Kings and that the Dragon Kings already interbred with them before the Wonder-Work. Most elder Mokolé regard this as corruption of the Memory. Some Lizard Kings are rumored to have become the ancestors of the Nagah by accepting a new duty from Gaia. As small group survived by swearing themselves to the Nameless Angel of Despair, becoming the Defiler Kings. Gallery Mokolé_ancient_times.jpg|The War of the Dragons, from Shattered Dreams Dragon_Kings.jpg|Dragon Kings of the past Lizard_Kings_Civilization.jpg|Lizard Kings civilization References * WTA Mokolé, p. 21, 129 * W20: Changing Breeds, p. 138 * Category:Werewolf: The Apocalypse glossary Category:Mokolé